1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that prints images of both a front side and a back side of a card type document on the same side of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a copier is used to copy, onto the same side of a sheet of paper, two images that have been printed on the front side and the back side of a small card-like document (hereinafter called a “card type document”) such as a business card, there is commonly performed a method where, once an image of the front side of the card type document is copied onto the same side of the sheet of paper, the sheet of paper on which an image of the front side of the card type document has been printed is reversed and an image of the back side of the card type document is copied on the same side of the sheet of paper. However, with this method, it is easy for mistakes to occur where, as shown in FIG. 12, an image 71 of the front side of the card type document and an image 72 of the back side of the card type document are copied such that they overlap each other in a copy image 70 or where, as shown in FIG. 13, an image 74 of the front side of the card type document and an image 75 of the back side of the card type document are printed such that they are oppositely oriented in a copy image 73, and there is a problem that, in order to print the two images borne on the front side and the back side of the card type document in desired positions, it is necessary to accurately place the card type document on the document platen, and this operation is troublesome.
As a technology that remedies the problem of copying a card type document, for example, the image forming apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2002-94773 includes a so-called two-in-one layout function which, when a document image arrangement pattern is selected from plural patterns, causes plural images to be printed on one sheet of paper based on the selected pattern. Thus, the two images borne on the front side and the back side can be printed on the same side of the sheet of paper without the image of the front side and the image of the back side being printed such that they overlap each other or such that they are oppositely oriented.
When this layout function is used to print an image of the front side and an image of the back side of a card type document on the same side of a sheet of paper, the document images are reduced to about 70%, so when the sizes of the print images are to be made into the same sizes as the document images, it is necessary to enlarge the sizes of the print images to about 141%.
However, there is the problem that, as shown in FIG. 14, depending on the position where the card type document is placed on the document platen, when the document images are enlarged and printed, the enlarged images do not fit on the sheet of paper, and part of an image 77 of the front side of the card and part of an image 78 of the back side of the card go missing as in a copy image 76. Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to align the positions of the enlarged images in consideration of reduction even if the images do not go missing, and this operation cannot be performed accurately and speedily.
In order to consider enlargement and reduction, for example, it is necessary to measure the actual dimensions of the card type document with a ruler or the like, calculate the dimensions of the enlarged or reduced images based on the measurement results, and determine the layout and the like from the size of the sheet of paper and the calculated dimensions of the images, and this operation of course ends up becoming complicated.